Last Chapter
They both changed into the night attire Sandre provided them, Raven insisting that he hold a sheet up for her to change. He had no idea she was so, well, timid about it. He, of course, changed in full view and was amused by Raven's not-so-subtle glances.
He thought about teasing her but decided against it since they were still on shaky ground.
"Good night, Rae," he said softly.
"Good night, Xander," she replied before turning over to get some sleep.
Origins
Just about ready to leave the Roth household, Victor heard a knock at the door. Victor was grateful to the rogue storm as it gave him more time to wait for darkness without worrying about Raven's mother (after all, as he predicted, she was not home yet and was probably staying with someone who lived closer to her area of work until the storm passed). He did have to leave soon, however, or really risk getting caught. The storm was letting up and it was still before the dawn, now would be his best time.
So the knock on the door made him wary, to say the least. It could be Kori, but she and Roy had intended to leave much sooner. Still, the storm could have thwarted their plans. Victor opened the door cautiously. He was not expecting what happened next. An angry and terrified mob stood at the ready, torches lit and ropes at the ready. He barely had time to react before the ropes ensnared him from all directions.
What is going on? How could they even know I was here? he wondered to himself, his confusion slowing down his thoughts.
Xander awoke in the early morning. The storm had been reduced to a light drizzle and he felt well rested for the first time in what felt like a very long time. He almost got up to start his day, but hesitated upon noticing the additional weight on his chest.
Being the morning, Xander was never truly awake. Only after standing up and eating some food or having some coffee would his brain start to function normally. Because of this, it was always easy for him to overlook small details in the early, such as the weight on his chest.
She looked so calm asleep. She looked truly peaceful and nothing like how feisty she was when awake. It was a rare sight, one that he felt glad to see. He briefly wondered how they had ended up in this position since they had gone to sleep back to back but soon decided it was irrelevant. Deciding not to wake her up, he circled his arms around her and decided that sleeping in today wasn't such a bad thing. Especially with her in his arms.
"Friend," Kori began, gently prodding Roy awake. He could see the dark circles under her eyes and the concern in her face. It's probably something to do with that cocky asshole.
"What's wrong?" he asked as gently as he could in the early morning.
"Friend Victor has not yet returned here and I am worried for him."
"The storm was bad last night," comforted Roy, "We were stuck here and I'll bet that he was stuck somewhere too, just like Richard probably was and Red-X and Raven. It's just a fact of the weird storm. I bet he's safe and sound and will head here when he wakes up."
"I suppose you are right, friend," Kori replied, "You have put my mind at ease."
"Glad to hear it. We should be heading out soon ourselves if we stand any hope of catching up to them. We're a day behind," explained Roy, getting out of bed to start the day.
"Agreed friend," stated Kori, "Let us break our fast and gather some food before setting out."
Raven blinked the sleep from her eyes. She was still half asleep, however, she felt warm and comfortable. She snuggled more to the source of the warmth before realising it was Xander. Her first instinct was to stay and enjoy the feeling, a thought that made her blush profusely, however the sensible part of her brain quickly reminded her why it was a bad idea.
It was stupid.
His words rang in her head and she instantly knew that she could not stay. She could not let her guard down around him. This somehow was how they rearranged themselves while sleeping, it wasn't a conscious thing he was doing. She could not trust him. With his words echoing in her mind and strengthening her resolve, Raven delicately detangled herself from his grasp. She tried her best not to wake him, and thought she had succeeded, but unbeknownst to her, Xander had woken up after she first began rustling around. He was a light sleeper, a product of always being hunted.
She then left the room to get her clothes that had dried near the fireplace the night before.
As soon as she left, Xander let out his breath and stopped pretending to be sleeping. He began mulling over his thoughts, namely, why she left so quickly. He understood that she seemed to be distant when it came to physical contact, but that didn't seem to be the reason she left. She snuggled before abruptly leaving.
Why does she hate being around me? he thought. Insecurity was usually never his thing, but somehow, she always made him feel inadequate, like he could never measure up.
He sighed and decided, after trying to guess Raven's motives, that he hated women. Especially this one. Trying to figure her out always left him feeling more confused. Sitting up, Xander supposed that he ought to get up as well and pretend as though he knew nothing about holding her in his arms while sleeping. It would be better this way. Besides, telling her it was intentional would create more awkwardness between them, something he wanted desperately to avoid. So he decided to do nothing.
Tara had whined and complained and finally gotten her way. They waited until the rain stopped before travelling. Some of the wood in the cave had dried sufficiently to light a fire, so they had a quick meal of cooked fish before packing everything up, including the rabbits (which Tara was not happy about-they were cute).
She was glad that Gar-yes, he told her to start calling him Gar- had relented. Travelling out in the rain would have been such a pain and could have made her or Garfield incredibly sick. Rains that strong and cold were not normal.
After spending most of the storm lost, Richard was glad that his situation had changed. He was still lost, mind you, but at least he wasn't being pelted constantly by the cold water. Wandering around the radius where he had last seen the tracks, Richard saw something move in the distance.
Whether it was his prey or a stray animal, he couldn't be sure, but he would check it out. Vaulting off his horse, Richard silently made his way forward. Sure enough, he could eventually make out two figures and the whiny voice of a girl. This had to be them. Elated, Richard silently slunk back over to his mount. He was glad that he had the common sense not to wander away from the last point of their tracks. It looks like he was right-this girl was no experienced traveller. She couldn't ride long and needed much rest after, a fact that had played to his advantage. He was back in the game.
Xander felt like banging his head against the wall. He disliked the idea of them still being on shaky ground, however, what he was about to do was stupid. He felt embarrassed, almost like crawling under a rock and remaining there.
Still he bit the bullet after breakfast, "We need to talk, you and I."
She gave him a look, "Something bad?"
"No, it's not," he began, out of earshot of Sandre, "But we can't keep going through awkward meals like that. We need to fill in the gaps to our story and part of that means actually knowing our real stories. As real as we can make everything sound, the better."
Xander held his breath, waiting for her to laugh or dismiss his comment. Truth was, sure dinner and breakfast were awkward, but they could handle it. It was mostly a (rather poor) excuse to cover up his curiosity about her past. He had lived with her for about half a month and knew her-knew what would get a rise out of her, what she would enjoy- and yet he still didn't really know her. It bugged him.
"We don't have to go into tons of detail either, but when you lie, I learned to do it right," he quickly added since she did not immediately respond.
Raven nodded, "Makes sense, I suppose. Though you should go first, my life has been significantly shorter and less interesting."
Xander tried to hide the happiness that flooded through him. He felt like grinning, he had gained some of her trust, enough that she would tell him more about herself. More than probably what most others knew. Sure he would have to spill too, but it seemed worth it. Besides, living for over a century, he could gloss over most of his life.
"Let's begin," she drawled, "By the way, how old are you?"
"Well I was immortalised at 21, so I have frozen in time if you will. I am still 21 and have been for about 117 years," he replied calmly.
She took the answer well, considering. Of course she looked quite surprised, however, it seemed that she was also expecting it to be a long long time that he had lived.
"Okay. I also remember that letter about your mother and sisters. Who were they? What were they like? How-" Raven questioned, unable to contain her curiosity. This was likely the only chance she'd have at getting information about him.
"Slow down," Xander said, cutting off her questions, "How about I start from the beginning and, at the end, if you have more questions then you ask?"
Raven nodded, "Alright, fair enough."
Xander then began to recount the most important parts to his tale.
"I grew up in London in around the 300th year of Azar with my three sisters, my mother, and my father. My father was a wealthy merchant, always off on business ventures. It was decided when I was about 10 that I would become an apprentice. I was eventually found a patron among my father's connexions, a banker would train me in the craft. That year, I moved in with this man's family-I am forgetting his name now, it's been so long. I would go to grammar school and, in the evenings, come back to his house to do further work on sums.
As I grew, so did the material that I was taught. He would teach me how to spot counterfeit money and cheques and would teach me how to assess value. I soon learned to do sums quickly in my head and even had an aptitude for what he was teaching me. It was fun. I would only get a certain amount of breaks a year and would go home when I could, but the journey did take about a week. My father had been getting wealthier, making advantageous deals and supporting my younger sisters in boarding school. He also paid the dowry for the eldest, Aria, to wed. Then, on a venture to Bludhaven, his ships hit a bad storm. They disappeared and were never found. They were all presumed dead."
Xander knew he should have felt something when recalling the news of his father's death, but the years had helped close the wounds. He couldn't even recall his father's face. It made him embarrassed, that he had been reduced to, essentially, stone. He could not feel or remember.
He was surprised when Raven hugged him, it was as though she knew. Maybe she didn't know, but just being hugged, no questions asked, was the best thing. He gave her a slight squeeze and sighed. Part of him wanted to stop, but he had already started and was going to see this through.
Determined, he continued.
"When we heard the news, we all took it badly. My mom barely left her room for weeks, so I had heard. My sisters were still allowed to stay in boarding school, but it came at a high price to the family. By the time this had happened, I was 15. I was still not old enough to work in the industry, but after my father's death, my father's friend knew that my family wouldn't have the resources to keep paying for my instruction. So he promoted me to apprentice, a true apprentice. One that made a salary. My earnings did help keep the family afloat for awhile, but funeral costs did take their toll. My mom decided to pay for it all with a loan from the bank and spent the next decade trying to pay it all off.
My sisters went from being incredibly wealthy to poor in an instant. The problem with them was their school. They wanted to look rich, look like they were unaffected, and never learned to reign in their spending. A year after all of this, the youngest, Ruth, came down with the flu. Everyone was panicked, it was nothing to take lightly. My mom hired the best doctors to look after her-again spending more than we had. Not long after getting sick, Ruth succumbed to the illness. At this point, we could not afford to bury her properly like we did with father. She was dumped into the communal area with many others with no ceremony and no plaque to speak about her. Apart from me, she is forgotten.
While Ruth was ill, to help pay for the medical costs, my mom took on a new profession as a tailor. She would sew and repair items on the side. After Ruth and father, she grew fussy over me and Bridgette, her last young children. Bridgette eventually graduated and went on to write. She also eventually married to a man with virtually no status, a fact my mother disapproved of. They fought somuch that they eventually became estranged. I was soon always on the move, acting as a shadow to this friend of my father's. Eventually, he died of old age, leaving me to put my knowledge to the test. Unfortunately, his partners in the company fired me, citing that I lacked experience.
Bitter, I returned home to live there for the first time in years. My mother there compared to the one I had left at age 10 was a different person. Outliving Ruth and father, coupled with her disagreements with Bridgette took their toll. True, she had me and Aria, but Aria was far away and she and mother only conversed around holidays. My mother was slipping, losing her spirit.
I tried to help as best as I could, but to no avail. She sunk deeper into depression. I eventually convinced her to sell the house and move to the countryside, both to get her away from the memories of father and to get her some money. Not to mention the fresh air of the countryside. I helped her move. It was not long until she too passed on. At that point, I sold her belongings and left. I knew I should have contacted Aria and Bridgette and, perhaps, moved in with them, however, I was never close with them. I hadn't lived with them when it mattered-when we were forming and shaping who we were.
So I left to Gotham City, finding work for awhile. It was barely enough to make ends meet. So I eventually stumbled upon the Thieves Guild, a secret group that taught hand-to-hand, stealth skills, and lockpicking in exchange for a commission on what you stole. I spent many years there, learning from them and finally getting by. I get bored easily, though, and at 20 I left the guild. I was still refining my skills when I came upon an old woman in the forest, a story that I'm sure you've heard.
She had a large emerald necklace, one that I thought surely would buy me passage to Bludhaven. She caught me and cursed me. Since then, I moved to Azerath, pleased with my new ability. I knew that the small town of Azerath was occupied by mostly wealthy people. These people being your ancestors. They had money and had decent sized homes commissioned. Several had family heirlooms, like jewels and necklaces, that have been passed down. Some still surface at the ceremony that you went through, I know because I usually steal them when they arrive at my house. However, at the time, stealing was something I still got a rush from. I made friends with a group of bandits and we would go on the largest raids.
However, like her curse said, I did live to see everyone grow old-grow up, even- and eventually die. I was alone. And that realisation took its toll. I stole away into the mansion, stealing to keep your people from raiding my house. Eventually stopped raiding and I stopped stealing as much. I still had to steal something, to let them know that I was still there and could take more if they did not co-operate, however, stealing lost its fun for me. I kept to myself, kept my head down. I eventually went along with the town's sending me people to have some company. At first I never let them in and would wait for them to go home. Then I decided to take them in during the winter months, not for long, but to add variety and keep them from dying.
And the tradition started. And here we are," he finished.
Raven whistled, "That's quite a story. But how did you meet Victor and Garfield?"
"Tsk, tsk," Xander playfully chided, "I've gone on long enough, I'll tell you that story later. It's your turn."
How did you like the chapter? I decided it was about time to flesh out the background stories of the main characters. Hope it wasn't too abrupt. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated-even criticism!
~RukiaRae
